Shattered, Twice As Strong
by SirWoofington
Summary: Ruby and her mother were taking a trip into Vale, something uncommon for the two but they wanted to get away from the house for a while. Unfortunately, they stumbled across something they shouldn't have, and Ruby's life was changed in ways she never would have imagined. AU, Faunus Ruby, Eventual Strawberry Shortcake Rated Mature for Gore, Violence, and Coarse language.
1. Shattered, Twice As Strong: Chapter 1

_***Ruby**_

"Run away Ruby!." Was the last thing I heard my Mommy say before she threw me into an alley, running the opposite way with our attackers hastily coming up behind her. I did my best to stay silent, slowly backing up from the road. I should have paid better attention to my surroundings because I was startled by the sound of metal coming crashing down on the hard concrete. Flicking around in a panic I saw what made the noise. I had accidentally bumped into someone's trash can.

"There you are, Bitch." A rough sounding voice echoed through my ears, my ears flattened to my head I hesitantly turned around. My voice croaked as I saw the man ahead of me, a white mask covering his face. The noise I made must have amused him because he started to laugh as he approached me.

"Nobody just Leaves the White Fang, your mother chose poorly and we are here to show what happens when people think they can turn their backs on us!"

I turned to run away, completely forgetting what got me caught in the first place. The sound of metal clanging against the ground could be heard once again as I tripped over the fallen trash can. Before I had a chance to pick myself up off the ground, I felt what I could only describe as a fire burning through my leg. Looking down at myself I saw what caused that feeling, a thin silver object protruding from where my knee should have been. Scarlet fluid pooled at the tip of the object, I didn't even have time to scream before the man standing above me twisted the blade. I opened my mouth to scream, but my own voice failed me, but it wasn't until I saw the silver object seemingly disappear that I realized I couldn't feel my own leg anymore. I didn't understand what had happened until I looked down, the last thing I could remember seeing was the image of my own leg being held onto my body by a few flimsy bits of skin.

I don't know if I realized what had happened, or if I even wanted to believe it, but before I had a chance to do anything else I felt an intense wave of heat above my own body sending my attacker flying. Turning to the direction I thought it came from I was met with an oddly coloured girl staring down at me. The last thing I saw were two miss-matched eyes staring at me before the world faded to black.

* * *

_***Roman**_

"Look Neo, You can't just go running off alone every single time you want Ice cream, It doesn't work that way. Especially when you steal my wallet too-" He quickly cut himself off as he saw the scene unfolding ahead of them. A group of five were ganging up on a lone woman on the edge of town. He shook his head before pulling Neo to the side deciding to take another route back home.

"_Lie, Cheat, Steal, Survive"_ He muttered under his breath. He did what he did best, and his best wasn't playing the part of hero for every unfortunate soul that took a wrong turn in this side of the town. Although only those who grew up here would understand that you don't come around here unless you are looking for trouble, even the cops stayed away. Shaking his head he tried to forget what was happened behind him and continue on with his decision to leave the poor woman to her fate. Turning the corner down the alley he was once again met with one of the men dressed the same as the ones attacking the woman on the street.

"_Today just isn't my day, First the men I hired couldn't pull off their job correctly, then I run into this mess twice." _He was about to raise his voice to get the mans attention, he knew that he could easily beat any normal thug out here but if he could avoid getting his suit dirty than he would gladly pass without a fight. But his voice never escaped his throat as the picture in front of him became clear. The man was laughing to himself as some hapless child lay impaled to the ground by a sword. He wasn't one who had anything against murder, it had become commonplace in his career, but he had his own morals, as skewed as they may be. It wasn't until he watched the blade be swung sideways through her leg, definitely severing it that he decided to take action.

"Animals never did care about their methods, did they.." He muttered to himself. The girl was obviously being toyed with. Raising his cane he hastily took aim, and the air was momentarily filled by a whistling noise before it was abruptly ended, being followed by an explosion that occupied what was once his chest. He felt no guilt over ending his life as he had done so many others, but he couldn't help but feel angry. Not once in his career has he ever targetted a child, and he wasn't about to have the blood of one of them on his hands by ignoring the scene.

Before he had a chance to move the young girl next to him ran up to the injured girl. He watched as she stared down curiously at the injured girl, praying she wasn't about to do something stupid. Quickly walking over to inspect the now collapsed girl. The first thing he noticed when he got closer was a short fluffy tail barely poking out from beneath her clothes.

"_If shes a Faunus, why were the Fang attacking her?" _He thought for a moment, he didn't exactly have a soft spot in his heart for the Faunus, but he couldn't find it in himself to abandon the child now.

"I just bought this suit, why do I already have to be ruining it." Reaching down he carefully picked up the girl, his heart twisting as her leg draped helplessly and at an awkward angle.

"Neo, If you would get us home," He said without looking at the girl, but he could feel her hand grab onto his arm. The alley was filled with a flash of light before the trio disappeared without a trace.

* * *

***Ruby**

I woke up with a scream that burned my throat, tears already threatening to bleed from my eyes. I don't remember what my dream was, and I can't remember anything from before I fell asleep, so why am I screaming?  
Grasping at my chest in a feeble attempt to catch my breath, I started to look around the room, it wasn't anything special, it was actually pretty bland. There was a table, a small shelf, a dresser and the bed that I was laying in. One thing I knew for certain was that I have never seen this place before in my life, so where am I? Letting my eyes roam they landed on a small figure in the doorway, a girl who couldn't be that much older than me wearing a white and pink dress. She looked alarmed for a moment before settling into a grin, I wanted to say something to her but no matter how hard I tried nothing could escape from my throat but a pathetic gasp. They seemingly disappeared behind the doorframe without making any noise, without even trying to say anything after seeing me.

"_Come on think... the last thing I can remember."_ I thought to myself, bringing both of my hands up to my head. The quiet ticking of a nearby clock was the only thing that accompanied me through my thoughts.

"_Me and Mommy spent the morning in the garden, she told me I couldn't pick any of the strawberries yet. I don't know why but she understands strawberries better than I do. She said if I behave then we could go into Vale to buy some. I was so happy when she let me eat some of them on the way back home, but on the way.." _Then my memories slammed into me like a truck, watching from the alley as they all attacked us, desperately trying to get away from the one that found me, the pain I felt coursing through my body, all of it. I gripped the edge of the bed as I struggled to lean over, retching out a small amount of foul fluid onto the hardwood below.  
I could hear the sound of slamming on hardwood from what I could only guess was the doorway. I didn't care to look. I tried my best to pull myself out of bed, wanting to escape from the nightmare I woke up in.

"_That's all this is, a nightmare. I'm sure my mommy will wake me up at an-"_ I felt arms wrap around me, my body being pressed up against someone else.

"Mommy!" I said out desperately, burying my tear-stained face into their chest, wanting the familiar warmth. Nuzzling against them I took in a deep breath, but any sense of security I had felt quickly turned to a sickly feeling in my stomach. The scent I was picking up wasn't that of my Mommy, it wasn't that of anyone I knew.

"It's alright Kid, you are safe now", I tried my best to thrash against whoever I was holding me, but I couldn't find the strength to push myself away. What happened next I wasn't expecting, instead of feeling like I was being held against my will like the previous night the hands that were holding me were soft. Gently rubbing up and down my back while one was placed on the back of my head. It reminded me of what my Dad would do each time I had a bad dream, it was... soothing. My crying slowly dissolved to sobbing, my struggling ending as I went limp in their arms. They felt warm and I wanted to feel safe. Breathing in shakily I tried to get as much of their scent as I could, wanting to remember it as a place I could be safe and if only for those few moments I let my mind go numb as I tried to forget the memories that I struggled to regain.

"There you go Kid, Just let it all out. We can stay like this for however long you need." It was a rough voice, but it carried a soft tone.  
I don't know how much time had passed as I laid in the warmth, never once opening my eyes, wanting to pretend like none of this was actually happening.

* * *

It's been a week since I woke up in this unfamiliar place, but never once did I dare to get up from this bed. The man who brought me here told me everything that happened, A lot of it I didn't understand, but the things that stuck in my mind was the fact I wasn't going to see my Mommy again, and I would never be able to walk the same again.  
Those two facts alone kept me crying for the first two days even when I had no more tears to spill. Sometimes that other girl would come by but she would never say anything. I don't know what she was trying to do, sometimes she would come by with toys but I never paid any attention, I would just stare at the wall next to the bed and ignore her. A few times throughout the day I would hear the man walk into the room and it was usually accompanied by the smell of food. Each time I smelled something I had to fight the urge to throw up, even though I had nothing left in my stomach it still felt painful and I was through with feeling pain.

But this day was different, I don't know if it was because of how long it was since I ate something, or if my body just got fed up with my stubbornness but I felt the urge to eat wash over me like a tidal wave. I did my best to sit up, but it took me a few minutes to even manage that. Every fibre in my body told me I needed to eat what was left for me, but looking at it all I could feel was the urge to throw up. I didn't want to eat, but I had too. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something I hadn't yet that morning. The girl was standing in the doorway looking at me curiously as if I was some alien creature. I slowly reached out to grab the tray that was placed on the stand next to the bed, but before I was able to grasp it somebody else did, the other girl beat me to it. I watched as she sat at the edge of the bed with the tray on her lap, facing me.  
This was the first time I had really got a clear view of her, and the first thing I noticed was her mismatched eyes.

"_They are so weird... why are they separate colours?"_ Lost in my train of thought I didn't notice the spoon being held in front of my face, nor did I notice the smile that spread across her face. It wasn't the same as the grin she had that one day, it was a genuine smile of happiness. It wasn't until I had swallowed the first bite did I realize just how badly I was starving, a quiet whimper escaping my throat as I waited for more, gladly not having to wait for long.

"_Is this why she's been coming here every day, has she been trying to take care of me?"_ My ears flattened against my head as I felt a pang of guilt, but they quickly perked back up as I took another bite. It was almost like the last week didn't even exist, all I could care about was filling my aching stomach.

It took me a few more days before I had enough strength to eat my own food, but instead of that man bringing me my food each day it was that girl. I never understood why she would never talk, but I guess I didn't say anything either. I didn't know what to say to the girl who would always stay with me to make sure I ate everything, and who would help me walk to the bathroom each day. My first instinct the first time I got up was to scream, realizing just how badly injured I actually was. It was surreal, I was just missing part of me that I would never get back, but every day I was greeted by the girl's warm smile and it felt wrong to sit there brooding while she took care of me. Sometime's that man would come by to check up on me, but he always smelled weird. It reminded me of the campfire we had one night, but more.. foul. I think he told me his name was Roman, and he said the girl's name was Neo. Such a weird name was all I could think, it brought a smile to my face as I giggled thinking about it.

That's how things continued for the next few weeks. I slowly started to regain my strength to the point I could move comfortably, well as comfortably as I could when I couldn't walk by myself. Neo started to bring a notebook and pen with her each time she visited, she was like me but instead of missing her leg, she was missing her tongue.  
It was an oddly warm feeling to know I wasn't the only one missing something, that I wasn't alone in the pain I felt inside each time I thought about it. One day she also showed up with this weirdly shaped stick and she showed me how to walk with it, which made it easier to get around when she wasn't home.

Home.

The word burned itself inside of my mind, I've been here for weeks but I rarely left my room. The bathroom was just across the hall, and I never went any further. I didn't feel safe away from my bed so I didn't know what anything else looked like, and I wasn't all too excited to go looking around by myself anytime soon. The idea of going somewhere unfamiliar scared me enough to keep me inside of my room all day, but that wasn't too bad. Neo would always bring different magazines and books up for me to read so I always had something to do. I'm not sure if it was on purpose or not, and as time passed I had slowly started to forget about the horrific tragedy that happened that day, but it always lingered in the back of my head like a storm waiting to break out, and sometimes I did still relive that night over and over in my dreams, but each time I would wake up to miss-matched eyes sadly looking down at me. On those nights I would bury myself into her body, not wanting to sleep alone anymore.

This was my life now and I just had to accept that fact, and as the weeks turned into months I started to forget about my old life, I couldn't even remember what my old room looked like, and I think that's fine. What harm could come from forgetting the past?

* * *

**AN- Aug, 8. 2019**

Hello! I've been working on this in my free time over the last few days, and while this chapter isn't complete I figured I would put it out now and see what people think of it.  
While it is a little more on the dark side, I wanted to give a past to Ruby that she can work to overcome and prevail in the more.. sinister side of town. I am hoping to update this daily during the week, so if anyone is interested, expect an update to come out soon, or at the latest Monday. This is my first time uploading on this site, and finding some interesting stories on here inspired me to try my best at creating my own. So feel free to leave a note for me, for anything you think could be changed, or if you just flat out don't enjoy something.

**AN- Aug, 9. 2019**

Well, I finished up this chapter, and honestly, I'm not all that impressed with how it turned out. I more than doubled the length and got everything I wanted into it, but it still felt rushed. Not sure if it's my inexperience or just lack of creativity but I'll be leaving it how it is for now as I work on the second chapter. Which will include a bit of a time skip. So hopefully that turns out a bit better. Like before, Let me know what you guys think! Any kind of feed back is appreciated.


	2. Shattered, Twice As Strong: Chapter 2

***5 Years Later**

I was sitting at my desk staring down at a variety of different papers spread out, overlapping each other. Books had been opened to specific pages as I was jotting down notes about different mechanisms and designs. The soft pitter-patter of rain bursting on impact with the roof was the only noise that filled the otherwise silent room. A room that had drastically changed over the last few years, from the once barren and nearly empty room was now filled with boxes of scrap metal, bolts and screws. The wall opposite of the door was replaced entirely by shelves that held a variety of different tools that Neo had gathered for her over the years, her 'bed' was replaced simply by a mattress and a variety of different blankets totalling in at six was placed directly under. I told Roman I wanted my room redesigned this way because It would be easier to get in and out of bed, but the truth was I just needed more space for my hobbies. On the opposite wall stood a bookcase that was filled by different manuals and rolled up papers held together by strings. I spent most of my free time reading books based on designing weapons. I'm not sure what sparked my interest in them, but the massive variety always kept me searching for more, wanting to learn more about how they were made.

There were some interesting ones out there, Knives that could split apart, swords that could fold and seemingly hide in your clothing. But nothing could top the designs that held multiple weapon forms inside of one, swords unfolding into spears, or folding into shields. Guns that could flawlessly fold into a bladed weapon. No matter how much I learned, there was always more to find out. Neo always helped fuel this interest. Showing up with different weapons she uh, _Scrounged_ up that she would give to me to tinker with. Although most of them turned into nothing but scrap because I could never figure out how to put them back together.

**Bzzt.**

My attention was snapped away from the blueprint laid out in front of me, my Scroll; A gift from Roman I received during the holidays the previous year, started to buzz on the desk. Unlocking it I noticed I had a new message from Neo. A smile instantly crept across my face when I saw it. Being able to talk to each other throughout the day definitely beats the first few months where I'm positive we went through more paper than some schools would have in an entire semester.

_"The job Roman sent me on should be finished soon, honestly it's annoying babysitting  
these guys but Roman wants it done right while he's busy on his secret 'job'."_

It took me a few minutes to write out my reply. I kept getting sidetracked with questions I wanted to ask, things I had to remember to ask Neo to pick up before she made her way home, and I couldn't help but think of what Roman was doing. It wasn't normal for him to keep secrets from us.  
I let out a short laugh to myself, "_Roman not keeping secrets from us huh? Even though his entire job is around secrets_"  
I shrugged away the thought, finally composing a message to send back to Neo.

_"I'm glad to hear from you! It means your still safe.  
I was honestly worried, from what you told me last night I thought it was going to take longer  
Oh, if you have time before coming home, can you pick up some supplies for me  
I kind of... broke the ones you got me last week, but I think I know how to do it now!"  
_

I let out a hesitant chuckle after sending the message, looking behind me to the box of 'Randomly assorted garbage' as Neo called it. I didn't really have anywhere to go and It was more of a pain than it was worth trying to get down the multiple flights of stairs to our kitchen. So I just resolved to live my life to the fullest I could inside of my room. The boxes were filled with different weapon parts, and overall just spare parts that I thought I could use to fix them, were deemed a lost cause at this point. Most of them were from before I decided to dedicate myself to learning more about weapons, the different designs, the different uses, and how to build them. I keep telling myself that I will go through all the boxes and figure out how to put them back together.

"_Ugh, why didn't I just organize them when I first took them apart! It's going to be nearly impossible to find the right pieces for everything." _I picked myself up out of my chair, leaning on one of my crutches as I walked over to the nearest box, shuffling through it until I found what I was looking for. Picking up a 10" metal rod. "_Well, At least all I have is time... This should be one of the easier ones to put together."_ I thought to myself, Making my way back to my desk to quickly send Neo another message.

_"And pick up some gravity dust crystals!"_

_"Well now onto the hard part,"_ I thought as I sat between the boxes of mismatched mechanical parts, tossing my crutch to the opposite end of the room to get it out of my way. Going box by box I dumped the contents onto the floor in a circle around where I sat, giving myself enough space in front of me to place the pieces I needed. Holding onto the rod in my right hand I went about trying to find the remaining pieces, which was easier said than done. The piece I held onto was not the largest piece of the weapon I planned on putting back together but I hoped it would at least be a start. Grabbing anything that looked like it would fit together, holding them close to see if I was right or wrong before either tossing it back into a box or placing it in front of me to use later. It wasn't a quick process, and I kept double-checking everything out of worry that I might toss a piece I needed away.

"_God, I'm going to organize every new weapon I take apart in separate boxes from now on!" _I thought to myself as I fell backwards onto the floor, one arm now covering my face. Reaching down into my pocket to grab my scroll to check the time, the numbers 4:38 hovered in the corner, my face quickly adopting a sour expression at how long I had spent just looking through parts. I took me a moment to compose myself before I thrust my arms forward, using the moment to pull myself up and in one fluid motion I rested my elbow on my uninjured knee, resting my chin in my lifted hand. Looking down at the parts ahead of me I saw multiple long tubes riddled with random holes accompanied by scattered bolts and two dust compartments.

"_Here's to hoping that these all fit together and that I'm not missing anything, it would really suck to go back through all these boxes. Especially if I somehow lost a piece..."_ Slowly pulling myself to where I tossed my crutch earlier I used it to steady myself as I stood up, heading to my desk I grabbed a spare crate then proceeded back to the center of the room to collect all the pieces I put aside. Getting it back to my desk was... difficult to say the least, needing two hands to carry the box, while trying to move a crutch to keep your balance, I cursed myself for losing my leg all those years ago. Carefully placing the box onto my desk I pulled myself into my seat, pulling out my scroll to play some music as I got to work.

"We got one minute, you know there's no other, it's too late we're in it, you're blowing my cover-" ***Bzzt  
**The sound of my scroll going off in the middle of a song made me jump in surprise. Reaching over to grab it I quickly checked the notifications, it was a message from Neo!

_"You better not blow my cover, even if you're cute I wouldn't be very happy with you if you did"_

"Huh?" I looked at my scroll confused for a moment before my eyes shot open, twisting around I saw the pink and brown figure in the doorway, holding a dull-looking backpack.  
"Neo!" I made a movement to shift myself back, but got overly excited and ended up tipping the chair over, waving my hands in the air as gracefully as I could as I fell to the floor with a loud thud followed by a quiet 'oww'. Rubbing my head I slowly pulled myself up to a sitting position, I watched as Neo approached and lifted my chair back up before reaching a hand out to assist me.

"Heh. I may have gotten too excited huh?" I said sheepishly as I took her hand, quickly being lifted back up to my chair. The only response I got was an eye roll before a soft smile crossed her lips.

"So how was your day?" I said eagerly, excited to finally have someone around.

"It was annoying. I wanted to stab some of those damned animals from the White Fang, they couldn't follow any instructions properly" The mute girl signed in response, causing me to tilt my head as I carefully watched. She had spent the last year teaching me but there was still tons of practice that needed to be done. Sometimes it took me a bit longer than it really should. She reached up and gently pet between my ears, causing me to notice that I had flattened them, before pulling away to sign again.

"But don't worry, I don't mean anything against you. You know that"

"Of course I know that we both know I'm too adorable for you to get mad at!" A sly grin creeping across my face as I resting my hand on my hip, tilting my body like I had seen the girl do so many times before. Receiving A roll of the eyes as a response, she then turned her gaze towards my desk, making a motion with her hands as if to ask 'what's this?'

"Well," I said turning my gaze back towards my desk, holding up the metal device that I had spent the last hour putting together. Along with something that resembled a bracelet. "You have no idea how many tiny pieces it takes to rebuild something as simple as this. Seriously I had like, a bajillion tiny pieces I had to shove into all these tubes and it's still one of the most basic weapons out there." My gaze constantly flipping between the colourful girl and the table.

"But it looks like a normal staff, so why would it take an hour?" She signed, looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Did you pick up some gravity dust crystals? I could show you" She nodded her head, after reaching into the bag she brought with her, she placed three dust crystals on my desk. I eagerly grabbed two of them before I went back to work, one of them slipped into a hidden compartment in the bracelet, while I grabbed the staff, giving it a hard twist it turned, showing off a small hole that I placed the second one inside of, before twisting it back closed. Running two of my fingers across the smooth surface I came across a button. Upon pressing the button the staff collapsed towards the center, shortening down from 6 1/2 feet to a measly two. I placed the cuff on my left arm before turning around with a grin. Neo looked at me confused, and with good reason as collapsing staffs weren't all that impressive. I shrugged my shoulder's before tossing the collapsed staff past her towards the doorway.

"So... you asked for dust just to throw it across the room?" She signed, looking at me with narrowed eyes. "You do know I actually spent money on those because I didn't feel like wasting time robbing the place."

"You mean you 'bought' them with the money you stole from before, right?" I chirped, shaking my head playfully. "No, I threw it for I could do _this"_ I channelled a small amount of aura into the cuff, causing it to glow a dull green before the staff came flying back towards my hand, catching it with a smug look on my face as I turned towards Neo.

"Well... at least that's not common." Neo signed shrugging her shoulders afterwards as she looked away.

"I figured maybe you could use it... since you already fight with an umbrella I thought maybe this could be useful for you since I can't use it myself, I figured I could at least be useful enough to make or fix weapons." I smiled, pulling my tail onto my lap as I gently fiddled with it to try to get the feelings of uselessness out of my mind.

"_Just because I can't move around doesn't mean I'm usel-," _I was quickly brought out of my thoughts as a pair of arms reached around me, pressing their body tightly against my own. My smile slowly fell to a frown as my ears wilted. I pressed my head into the smaller girl as I brought my arms around her, doing my best to resist the urge to cry. I don't know how long she let me stay in her embrace, and honestly I don't care, taking in a deep breath I felt my body relax. No matter how much time passed this feeling always held something special, it made me feel safe. I almost didn't let go when I felt the smaller girl start to pull away, giving a small pout as we broke apart, fixing what strands of hair had fallen into my face as I pushed the remainder of my negative thoughts back down into their hole.

I caught a glimpse of Neo putting her scroll back into her pocket before she walked over and picked up my crutches, returning them to my desk before signing.

"Roman is home, he said he brought pizza" Something inside of me sparked when I read what she said, quicking grabbing the crutches and made my way to the door.

"Out of my way Neeoo!" I said with a miniature howl of excitement because no matter how sad I could be feeling, I will never not be excited about fresh Pizza. I could already hear the mutes silent laughs from behind as I made my way out the door. Outside of my room was a small hallway that connected to both Neo and Romans rooms. Mine is on the far side along with the bathroom while both of theirs were closest to the downwards spiralling staircase that led to the rest of the apartment that we called home. I'm sure that if my tail wasn't wagging the entire time that Neo would have pressed past me, but I honestly didn't care.

The air was filled with the sickly sweet smell of melted cheese and tomato sauce. Hobbling towards the kitchen I came face to face with Roman who was holding up his lighter to light a cigarette, but he quickly placed it away once he saw me.

"Morning Red, nice to see you out of your room for once."

"It's almost time for the sun to set Ro' so I don't think it's morning anymore. Now, Where. Is. It." I said trying to end the sentence with my most intimidating voice, but it was only met with a small chuckle followed by him rubbing my head.

"We gotta work on your acting Red, I placed it over there on the counter but first I think you should get yourself cleaned up." My head twisted in confusion as I looked at him, I looked like a mess? I took a shuffle back away from Roman before pulling out my scroll to get a look at myself with the camera. My eyes went wide as I saw what I looked like, my eyes slightly red from crying just a few minutes ago, the red tips of my messy hair stained a disgusting orange from weapon grease, a black stain smudged across my cheek. "_I couldn't have been the long since my last bath... how did I get so filthy?"_

_"_I know your a dog and all Red, but I hope you don't plan on licking yourself clean. I doubt the grease tastes good." Looking past my scroll I saw Roman with a smirk across his face, I knew he was joking but he was right, I was definitely in need of a bath before I went to do anything else.

"Hehe, I guess I may have gotten carried away in my room, but I was finally able to put something back together!" I say joyfully.

Neo walked up between us while typing something on her scroll, which she showed to Roman before turning it towards me.

_"Yeah, A stick. Good job! :)"_

I puffed up my cheeks before flailing at the smaller girl, doing my best to hit her with one of my hands. "It's not just 'a stick'! It's a collapsing staff that can use dust! and well yeah it may just be a stick right now because I'm missing a few pieces of it..." My voice slowly trailed off as I started to poke my index fingers together as I looked at the ground.

"Neo leave the poor girl alone, just because she's a gear-head doesn't mean you should put down the dog for rebuilding a stick," Roman said as he slowly backed away to the other side of the kitchen, Neo was doing her best to cover her mouth as she let out a soundless laugh. Glaring at Roman I slowly picked up one of my crutches as if to throw it at him. "Alright, Alright. I'm done with the dog jokes, Seriously though Red go clean up before you eat anything. Especially since we have to head into town."

"Into town? Why would we go there, or are you forgetting what happened last time a crippled Faunus went out onto the main streets?"

"I remember Neo using her semblance to push someone in front of a car after they 'accidentally' knocked you down if that's what you are referring too. We are going into town because one of my associates should be receiving a package from Atlas, while I couldn't exactly order it myself you know being a wanted criminal and all."

"I get that, but why me? I don't know if you've noticed but I don't exactly go out." I said with a frown, shifting my weight awkwardly as I gazed at the floor. I didn't enjoy going out into the city unless I had too, most of the time I went out was because Neo asked me to go out with her somewhere so she didn't have to spend the day alone while Roman was busy. I would feel too guilty if I said no to her, she was too cute when asking and I would only feel worse if I asked her to stay home with me again. I always hide my face when we do go out, it was hard enough being a Faunus but it seems like people target me even more since I can't defend myself properly.

"Well Red, how would you like to walk again?" My ears perked up, as my head instantly shot up only to be met with a smug smile staring back at me. "I got sick of you cooping yourself up in your room, so I decided to get you a Lil' Present. Now go clean yourself up, Neo give her something fancy to wear yeah? We have to go to 'Juniors' to-"

I let myself zone out after hearing him. "_Did I just hear him right? If I would like to walk again? Of course I want too but it's not like I can just go-."_ I flinched and brought my hand up to the side of my arm, Neo standing next to me with her hand on her hips. "Did you... just punch me?" I questioned as she nodded and started typing into her scroll.

_"You zoned out, So I got your attention"_

"Sorry about that, It's just that I thought I just heard Roman say something but I think I'm just too tired and hallucinating."

"No Red, You heard me right".

* * *

***Neo**

I looked over at Roman with my mouth slightly open. "_Ruby being able to walk again? What kind of strings did Roman pull... better yet, why would he go through that trouble in the first place?_" It didn't make sense, sure he took both me and Ruby in but everything he does is usually for his own benefit. I think I can count only a handful of times he's gone out of his way to do something for us before, and it's usually because I dragged him out or threatened to steal his lighter if he didn't come with me.

"-Neo give her something fancy to wear yeah? We have to go to 'Juniors' to pick it up, and I don't think Junior will appreciate if we took her into his club in her current state."

I nodded my head, "_Dressing Ruby up for a night at the club? Ooh I know just what to get her in." _A grin spread across my face as I started to imagine different outfits for the girl to wear. I looked over at Ruby with the intention to pull her back upstairs, but she just stood there wide-eyed staring at Roman. I started to type a message into my scroll before turning it towards Roman.

_"__I think you broke her"_

I looked back at the confused Faunus, before swinging my hand right into her shoulder. I watched her jump as she brought her hand up to rub where I just punched her. "_Alright step one done," _I thought to myself.

"Did you... just punch me?" She asked, I couldn't tell if the look on her face was more of her being hurt, or just confused because she didn't know what was going on. It was obvious her mind was trying to put itself back together after what Roman dropped on her. I decided to type to her on my scroll instead of putting her through the trouble of making out sign language.

_"You zoned out, So I got your attention"_

"Sorry about that, It's just that I thought I just heard Roman say something but I think I'm just too tired and hallucinating."

"No Red, You heard me right".

"Oh, Alright. Neo if you could I think I could use a little help as I process this."

I stifled a giggle as I watched her, it wasn't common to see her lost in her own little world like this. Normally she would happily rant on about whatever was on her mind instead of shutting down like this. "_Seriously Roman could you not have thought of a better way to drop this on her?" _I nodded my head as I pulled on her arm, leading her back towards the staircase. It took a few minutes to get her into the bathroom but I was sure she would be fine by herself. Quickly heading into my own room to look for an outfit she could wear.

"_What kind of outfit would look good on her?"_ I frowned as I looked through my clothes, most of which had my iconic colour scheme. "_I don't exactly think she would look good in a white and pink outfit. Normally she just wears a white T-Shirt and shorts, well at least I think that's what colour they were before she got them completely stained..." _It took me a while, throwing open old dressers that I haven't bothered to open in months, digging through every shirt and jacket in my closet. Thankfully I went through a lot of outfits trying to find what I liked, much to Romans expense. Finally finding something that would both fit and look good on Ruby, a red tube top and black short-sleeved bolero jacket, normally I would have paired these up with pants but just to be safe I went into Rubys room and got the cleanest, and nicest pair of shorts I could.

_"Hehe, Finally being able to see her in something other than grease-stained shirts, Roman you've made a mistake giving me control of this," _I thought to myself as I made my way back to the bathroom with the outfit in hand, panties and socks included since me and Ruby both forgot to grab some beforehand. Slowly opening the door as I peaked my head through, only to be met with the thick fogged glass sliding door that blocked off the shower. Placing the clothes next to the sink before I went back out into the hallway. "_Now what to do while I wait.."_

* * *

***Ruby**

I pulled myself out of the shower after drying myself off. Picking up my crutches from where they were propped up against the wall. "_Alright Ruby, You can keep yourself under control. Sure you haven't been able to walk for as long as you can remember but that doesn't mean you can freak out about this. Ro' probably just has an idea for better crutches or something. No need to get your hopes up!" _I let out a deep breath to center myself, pulling the towel off from on top of my head. "_Wait, I forgot to grab some clothes before I came in here... Hopefully Neo and Roman are both downstairs so I can sneak into my room,"_ A blush crept across my face, how could I have forgotten something so simple. It wasn't until I went to grab my old dirty clothes that I noticed the neatly placed stack of clothing on the opposite side of the counter. _"I guess Neo grabbed them for me?"_

Feeling awkward was an understatement, out of place would be more accurate. I never had a reason to care about what I wore, so I would just wear old t-shirts that I would get messy anyways. So when I put on everything Neo grabbed for me and stood in front of the mirror I could barely recognize the girl staring back at me as I fidgeted in the unfamiliar clothing.

"_Dammit Neo, why would you pick something that barely covers my body up? What kind of place could we possibly be going to that requires me dressing up in something that I'm sure will get me laughed at by Roman the moment I go downstairs," _Sighing in defeat I started to fix my hair into its familiar style. _"At least one thing about me can be normal, right?"_

The first thing I was greeted with was a flash of light, followed by a smug-looking Neo, who was seated on the floor across from the bathroom with her scroll pointed towards me. I couldn't see myself but I was pretty sure my face matched the colour of my shirt, grabbing onto my left arm as I did my best to resist the urge to hide back in the bathroom. "It doesn't look bad... right?" I asked quietly.

"You look amazing, definitely better than the grease-covered girl who I saw in her dump of a bedroom earlier," she signed, a small innocent smile plastered on her face, instead of her usually mischievous grin.

"I feel so out of place... do I really need to wear this for where we are going?" She stood up before nodding her head in response, motioning for me to follow as she made her way back downstairs.

"soon, you aren't open yet right?" I could hear Roman talking to someone as I made my way down the stairs, sitting on the steps as I slowly crawled down them. Was it graceful? Not at all, but it was definitely the easiest way down them. "I'm bringing the kid so make sure your guards let us in without any trouble, alright?"

Once I got to the bottom I could see Roman talking into his scroll, Neo swinging her umbrella in circles next to him. She abruptly stopped and tugged on Romans sleeve once she saw me, a grin plastered across her face as she pointed towards me. "_Of course, she wants to show off her handiwork..."_ I pulled myself up to a standing position and made my way towards them with the help of my crutches.

"There we go Red, now you don't look like a complete mess anymore. Good job on the outfit Neo, both of you can head outside there should be a car waiting for us. I just need to go grab something before meeting you both," and with that, he pushed past us and into his planning room. I looked at Neo before uneasily making my way towards the front door. "_How long has it been since I went out? Two months, three? If this goes poorly I will never let Roman hear the end of it..."_

* * *

***AN** \- Aug 12, 2019.  
ecoolasice : Don't worry I don't want to wait an eternity for my own updates either :)  
bmurd3rf4c3 : I will be following canon for some parts of the story, but I may change events or who was involved. Right now I have not decided on what events I want to take place.

Thanks to Herpaderp and Darkmoon for your reviews.

Aug 14, 2019.  
Welp... Sorry for the late update guys! I've been stressed from my job the last few days, and I guess I forgot to click save the last time I worked on this chapter so I ended up having to rewrite over half of it. Luckily I have half a can of Rockstar left and enough time in the middle of the night to work on this!

Just like before, feel free to leave a review. I could use all the feedback I can get. I'm rusty when it comes to writing so this is both a learning experience and a refresher. I hope that the longer I keep up with this the better the next chapters will be.


	3. Shattered, Twice As Strong: Chapter 3

I quickly raised a hand above my eyes to block out the view of the distantly setting sun and moved off to the side to let Neo pass me as I took in my surroundings.

_"Not much has changed, wasn't too sure what I was expecting... was that shop always there?"_ I thought to myself as I stared down the street to a new, or what I assumed to be a new cafe seated on the corner. It's been months since Neo last dragged me out and it was still too soon for me to comfortably leave what has been my home for the last 5 years. The only reason I even dared leave was that those words Roman said still echoed in my mind, he said so little and yet it burned a hole in my mind that I couldn't possibly fill. "_How would you like to walk again?"_

I tried my best to think back to before I had these forsaken crutches, to when I was still whole, but I couldn't remember. All those memories from before I woke up in my room, with Roman hugging me as I cried, were nothing more than fragments of memories, blurs in the corner of my eyes that seemed to flee into the otherwise white tundra.

"Come on Red, we have an appointment to keep." I cringed as I was abruptly knocked from my daydreaming, looking over at the orange-haired man who was currently locking the door. "I still need to do some planning tonight, so I would like to get this done as quick as possible."

"Alright, sorry Ro'" I said sheepishly as I made my way over to the parked car on the curb, Neo patiently waiting to help me get into the opened car door.  
How weird it was to be inside of a car, it felt cramped-to say the least. Whenever we would leave the house before we would always walk, maybe it was just Neo's choice to walk instead of getting driven around? The woman in question took a seat beside me while Roman took the front passenger seat and a man I didn't recognize was the driver, he wore a black suit with red sunglasses. Once we were all inside, the vehicle came to life, which if I was being honest startled me more than it should have, earning me a questionable glance from Neo which I tried to play off by grinning which I was sure didn't work.

Not wanting to get the attention of either person in front I slowly pulled out my scroll and began typing a message to Neo.

_"Soo... Where are we going?"  
"And did you know anything about this?"_

I slowly tapped my fingers against the edge of the device as I waited for a response.

_"Apparently we are heading over to 'Juniors', A night club owned by an old friend of Romans"_  
_"And no, I was just as surprised as you were. Are you excited?"_

I felt my heart drop when I read over the question, was I excited? I don't even remember a life when I still had both of my legs, and here soon I'll be able to walk again?  
Will I even be able to walk again? What happens if it doesn't work? or if I can't remember how to walk with two legs? I don't even want to know how much money Roman spent on this but I can't help but think it will all just go to waste. I'm sure the car drive only took a few minutes, but it felt like it took hours. Hours that I was left alone with only my thoughts.

All of the thoughts that were rushing through my head stopped the moment I heard the car engine shut off, and all that worry quickly dropped into the pit of my stomach. Looking out the car window at the building we were parked behind, with only a plain-looking metal door among the concrete walls. I could feel my body shaking, was it out of fear? Anticipation? Regret? I couldn't tell what emotion was causing it, maybe they all were. Neo must have noticed how spooked I looked because I felt a hand reach over and place itself on my shoulder, my ears flicking up briefly as I jumped in surprise.

Snapping my head around to see what startled me, I was met with two pink coloured eyes. One look into them was all it took to take the edge off, I could feel myself starting to calm down. I didn't know why but she was always able to calm me down no matter the situation, from fear to sadness, she was always there for me.

"Alright Neo, help Red here get inside. Don't bother bringing her crutches in." Roman said from the front of the car in a rather harsh voice before he got out and shut his door, followed by Neo slowly pulling herself away from me to get out herself. I eyed my crutches that I had placed across my lap, was I really not going to need these anymore?

"Dammit Neo, don't you dare drop that those are expensive!" Snapping my gaze up I saw Roman, a lighter in one hand, staring down at Neo. It's been a while since I saw him look that angry. Watching her motion towards me with her umbrella, a cigar in her other hand.  
"Yeah Yeah, 'No smoking around Red' Look it's been a long day, Cinder is up my ass about different jobs and I haven't had a chance to relax. So hand it over," he said while thrusting his lighter back into his coat pocket. Neo gave him one last glance before returning the cigar, skipping over to the opposite side of the car to help me out.

It was awkward walking around without crutches. Leaning on the smaller woman for support as we made our way to the door, which our suspicious looking driver held a card up to a reader next to it, causing it to pop open with a metallic click. Inside sitting on a chair was another man dressed in the same manner, sitting on a chair reading through a comic. He gave us, or more specifically Roman, a single glance before looking back down at his book, motioning with his head for us to enter. Looking past Roman down the long hallway I noticed a mix of white and red lights illuminating the wall, compared to the dull orange the hallway lights gave off.

"Neo, help her downstairs," I watched as Roman motioned to one of the closed doors in the hallway, before making his way down towards the flashing lights.  
"Junior and I will be down shortly, once I manage to find him." He said with a sour tone, pulling the hook of his cane over his shoulder.

* * *

Cold was one way to describe the small room the staircase led too. The room only had a desk, a few filing cabinets and a couch that I was pretty sure was older than me shoved into the corner. Neo helped me to the couch before she skipped over to the desk taking a seat on the edge of it after pushing away whatever papers were previously there.

"So, if this works out what do you think will happen after?" I asked quietly. Up until now, Roman had been taking care of me, which based on his attitude towards Faunus, brought on so many questions, ones that I hadn't ever dared to ask him. Even to this day, I wasn't sure why he took me in. "You- you don't think he's doing this to get rid of me, do you?" I asked. Slowly tilting my head up to look at the brown and pink girl who had her face twisted while lost in thought. I'm sure that the only reason she was able to hear my question was because of how small the room was.

"I don't think he would throw you out. I wouldn't let him if he did anyways," she signed after a minute of silence. "You know how persuasive I can be around him."

"Yeah, I'm sure he would never see his lighter or cigars ever again," I said with a slight giggle, if only for a minute being able to distract myself from the situation I found myself in.

It didn't take much longer before the door opened up, slamming into the wall as it did. A rather burly man entered carrying a metal case that was easily four feet long. He raised an eyebrow as he looked at me, before walking over to place the case next to Neo, Roman following behind him with his cane lifted over his shoulder.

"You never mentioned she was a Faunus, never thought I would see you going out of your way to help one of them." He said as he pulled out a set of keys, fumbling around with them before finding the right one to unlock the case.

"What I do is none of your concern. I paid you more than though for the model and to keep your mouth shut." Roman said back sternly. The man waved his hand dismissively.

"Yeah yeah. I get it, keep quiet about this. Anyways it's all yours now, I took the liberty of removing the tracking chips they put in 'em in Atlas, so if you damage it you'll have to go through me for spare parts." Turning to Roman he gave a quick nod before heading back up the staircase.

Looking back at the table I could see Neo, who had already opened the case and was currently trailing her finger along the inside. I could vaguely make out the grin on her face.

"Alright Red, Let's get you-" Roman started but was quickly cut off by the sound of his scroll ringing, he pulled it out and his face quickly soured. "Sorry Red, looks like my 'Partner' wants to talk... One fucking day to myself is all I asked..." and with a sigh, as he made his way towards the staircase he answered the call. "What is it Cinder?"

I listened vaguely to his conversation as he made his way up the stairs, my ears drooping in disappointment. "_I guess even now, work comes first huh... At least Neo stayed around so that's something." _Turning my head back to her I couldn't help but feel scared, intimidated by something as simple as a metal box. I took in a deep breath before slowly letting it out to calm down my nerves, I came this far I might as well see it through. Clearing my throat to snatch her attention away from the case. "Alright Neo, enough drooling over it," I said as I pushed myself to a standing position leaning against the wall as I slowly hopped over to the desk.

The first thing I noticed was the light reflecting off the otherwise crystal clear metal that made up the prosthetic. I had been expecting something simple, maybe halfway built out of wood and plastic to just help me get around. Instead, what laid inside the case was an intricate device made up entirely out of metal along with multiple legal documents and information packets about it. It looked so lifelike that if somebody had painted it my skin tone I could probably pass in a crowd as someone who wasn't crippled. I felt a hand come across my cheek, turning my head to Neo confused. She was looking at me but instead of the grin she had earlier her face was instead one of worry. "_Why does she look upset?" _I thought to myself, only then did I notice that I was crying, the warm tears running down across my cheeks before dropping onto the table below.

"Is it not to your liking?" She quickly signed out. Shaking my head vigorously I brought one of my hands up to wipe my face, doing my best to stop the waterfall of tears.

"I-I don't know why I'm crying, It-It's beautiful and amazing, and way more than I deserve." I choked out, still rubbing my face into my arm as I turned away, not wanting her to see me like this. I heard the soft sound of her shoes hitting the concrete, but I didn't dare turn around. Instead, I was pulled sideways, causing me to stumble into the smaller girl as she helped me keep my balance.

"Come on, let's get you set so we can go get ice cream without you slowing me down," Neo signed with one hand before tapping on the table where she once sat, using her other to help keep my standing upright. I only stood there staring at her, not knowing what to say.

"_All of this, all my stress and fears, and all she can think about is going to get ice cream without having to wait for me to catch up?" _I stood there in silence, thinking about what she just said. I couldn't help but feel a smile spread across my lips followed by a laugh that escaped from them. "You jerk! Is that all you care about? I should've known that all you think about is sweets." Resting both my hands on the desk I pulled myself up, turning to face her with both of my legs, or what remains of one of them, hanging off the edge.

"Nope, but it helped calm down your nerves. But we really should go get some after." She signed quickly, grinning as she pulled the metal prosthetic out of its case, she gave it a glance before picking up a piece of paper that accompanied it. Frowning slightly before quickly wiping it off her face with a smile. I watched her reach into the open hole on the top of it, causing multiple layers of metal to unfold as the mouth of the device opened to a larger size. Crouching down in front of me she slowly brought it up to my missing leg. Giving me a glance she placed it on the ground before pulling off both of her gloves, something I rarely saw her without, and quickly handed them up to me.  
"Bite on these, trust me," she signed. I felt a wave of regret come across my body as I hesitantly took them, folding them neatly in half before placing them into my mouth.

The last thing I could feel as she pressed my stub into the prosthetic was a click, probably from a button of some kind before the once folded metal started to compress again. I winced but it wasn't that bad, it just felt like my leg was pressed into a vice and was probably cutting off blood flow. What happened next brought about a pain that I haven't felt in years, that I haven't felt since that day all those years ago. I'm positive Neo could hear it, the sound of what only could be described as a drill tearing through the flesh on the edge of my leg. I, on the other hand, couldn't hear anything besides the blood rushing to my ears as I felt my leg being torn apart. Biting down on Neo's gloves while at the same time letting out a muffled scream. The last thing I could remember was searing pain and the sight of mix-matched eyes, before passing out just like that day.

* * *

***Neo**

I stepped back to give Ruby space, I thought it would be best not to let her read over the information booklet about what would happen when she put the prosthetic on, and how it suggested having it done at a hospital. I mean it's not like we can just stroll into somewhere and ask them to do it for us without them asking tons of questions, and without a doubt finding out about me and Roman. The first thing I noticed was the pure fear in the girl's eyes, followed by the mechanical sound of gears turning, spinning. Followed by blood dripping out from small holes on either side of the prosthetic. It was necessary to connect with her nerves, to trick her mind into thinking it was part of her body, but that meant that she had to go through a tremendous amount of pain.

"_Normally I would have loved to see something look like this, but I never wanted to see it on her face. I'll have to make this up to her lat-"_ I quickly moved to catch the girl as she started to fall sideways. Her eyes now closed and her body still, despite the device still going through the process of attaching to her body. "_I'm surprised it took her this long to pass out."_ I thought to myself, slowly leaning her down onto the desk. Staring down at the cherry coloured lines dripping down the once stainless prosthetic I couldn't help but let out a silent giggle. "_Junior is going to kill us for making a mess."_

* * *

***Ruby**

My head felt fuzzy as I slowly blinked my eyes, staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. "_Where am I? I should be home in my room."_ I thought to myself, slowly tilting my head side to side to take in my surroundings. Slowly sitting up I saw Neo sitting on the floor in front of me, playing a game on her scroll. "Neo? Where are we?" I asked aloud, the girls head quickly snapping up once she heard my voice. She didn't sign anything or send me a message on my scroll like she usually would to answer my questions. She simply gestured towards me, or specifically my legs that dangled off the side of whatever I was laying on.

That's when it hit me.

I could feel a searing pain coming from my right leg, it was almost worse than the time I tripped in my room and landed on one of the blades of a sword I dismantled. Wait, I could feel from both of my legs?  
I slowly looked down over the edge of the desk to see what she was gesturing towards. It wasn't the dried blood, or the pair of dirty gloves that laid on the floor below me, or even the previously unstained metal that was attached to my body that got my attention first. It was the fact that I could feel my toes twitching, not on my left leg like I was accustomed too, but on my newly added right leg.

I could feel, a feeling that I had never experienced on that side of my body, or at least had no memory of.

I didn't care about the pain, or the fatigue I was feeling from my diminished aura. Letting out a shaky breath I look up at Neo. "H-Help me stand."  
They were three simple words, but I could feel them clawing at my throat as if I wasn't supposed to say them. I don't think I have ever seen Neo stand up faster in my life, well except for maybe when she and Roman go out for ice cream at one of the nearby shops. That's when I realized, she flashed? She had used her semblance to come to my side in an instant. Reaching my hands up to grip onto her shoulders while hers wrapped around me in a hug, I slowly started to edge myself off the desk, putting all my weight onto my left leg like I was used too. Slowly lowering my right leg to the ground.

I could feel my foot touch the ground, so far so good.

Slowly putting more weight onto the foreign limb, I must have gotten ahead of myself because I could feel my body buckle as I started to fall, luckily being stopped by Neo who was still holding onto me. "F-Fuck," I muttered under my breath. I could feel sweat starting to run down my face and for good reason. I hadn't forgotten the searing pain I went through probably only minutes ago, I don't even know how long I was unconscious for. It was foolish for me to try to put any kind of weight onto the leg before I had a chance to properly heal and adjust.

But I didn't care, about the pain or about playing it safe.

I could feel Neo nudge me back towards the desk, she probably wanted me to sit down again so I wouldn't buckle under my own weight.  
"I.. I have this Neo, I've been sitting around for years. I. Will. Do this." I said as I looked down at the girl. Her face was covered by a frown, almost like she wanted to refuse my pleas, but it quickly turned into a smile as she nodded her head.

How long had passed? Twenty minutes? Forty? An hour or two? I lost track of time as I tried to get used to my new limb. Thankfully the searing pain slowly started to fade into a continuous burn, or maybe it was just going numb. I was definitely not going to be running anywhere anytime soon but I had made progress. The most difficult part had to have been getting used to putting weight on it, from what I could understand it was connected to my nerves just like any normal leg, but it was hard to process that information, harder to think about it as part of my body and not just something I was leaning against but once I was able to overcome that barrier I found it surprisingly easy to balance myself. "_Atlas is the leading nation for technology after all, of course they would be able to make something like this." _I thought to myself, I couldn't help but be amazed at the piece of technology that was now part of me, and I would be damned if I was ever going to let it go.

Next came trying to walk, one step, two steps, then collapsing on the third. Each time I fell, I had Neo to either catch me or help me back up to my feet. Pacing around the room in circles as if I was a baby learning to walk for the first time, and despite how many times I fell to the ground, no matter how many times I felt a sharp pain burn through my leg to the base of my spine, I never once lost the smile on my face.

Why? Because I was able to walk on my own, if only a few steps at a time, without using crutches or relying on someone else.

* * *

"Alright Neo... Could you help me up the stairs? I'm afraid I might fall if I try on my own and I don't want to be cramped up inside anymore." I said adamantly as I slowly made my way towards the staircase. Limping as I barely stayed standing on my right leg, I wasn't used to it yet but I was able to move on my own without falling if I relied mainly on my left leg for support. Unfortunately, the opposite was the case for stairs, I would be forced to put all my weight on my right leg to lift myself upwards and I was terrified of what might happen if I fell down.

Thankfully Neo held onto me the entire way up, despite being smaller than me she was surprisingly strong and was able to lift me up each time I took a step. It wasn't long before we reached the same bland hallway that greeted us when we first arrived. The same guard, or who I assumed to be the same guard was still seated in his chair paying no attention to either of us, but one thing did stick out differently than before - the faint sound of music being played from the opposite end of the hallway. I could feel Neo tugging my arm in that direction, shooting her a concerning glance. She quickly pulled out her scroll and began typing a message which she then thrust into my face.

_"We got you dressed up for a reason._  
_You're finally out of the house, and you're able to walk again._  
_So we are going to celebrate by having a few drinks"_

I just stood there, looking at her confused. "You...you realize neither of us are eighteen yet right?" She only shrugged and continued to type into her Scroll.

_"Roman got me an ID that pushes me two years up, so they won't suspect anything.  
__You are dressed up so let's go enjoy the party!  
Actually, nevermind Roman might get angry if I get a fourteen-year-old hermit drunk"_

I opened my mouth to complain about the insult but quickly shut it. "_Fuck it, I might as well enjoy the music,"_ I thought to myself, today already threw what I thought my life was going to be like out the window, why not experience something new.

"Fine, but you aren't allowed to leave me alone. I don't want to get lost in there."

* * *

***AN**

Here's another chapter guys! Unfortunately, I can't have my Beta go over things until the weekends so I'm trying my best to look over any mistakes I may have made.  
Im trying to get chapters of minimum 5k words out every two days during the week, at least while I have ideas fresh in my mind about where I want to take the story. Like always go ahead and drop a review, and thank you for those who have read up to this point!

Additionally this week I've had to pick up two shifts from my co-workers who have called in sick. Unfortunately, the place I work for only hires the bare minimum staff so I haven't had nearly as much time as I wanted to work on this story. So this chapter, and sadly the next have been delayed.

Seriously, while I may not have as many readers as bigger stories out there, I probably wouldn't have continued this without your support. So thank you for sticking this far!

* * *

Finally getting this chapter out. So sorry for the massive delay.

ecoolasice | It didn't even cross my mind to put them in but I have an idea on how to slip them in. Was it the classiest approach? not at all, but I do feel like its something Neo would try.


End file.
